BOISE, Idaho — What do you know about human trafficking?
National data collected by Polaris in 2021 showed 10,359 situations of human trafficking were reported to the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline which included 16,554 individual victims.
A window into Idaho: the Idaho Anti-Trafficking Coalition says they aided 115 individuals in just the first six months of 2022. More than half of those people are survivors of sex trafficking.
Experts say data like that only covers a portion of reality.
"It's a lot more common than people realize, which is why it's such an epidemic right now,” Paula Barthelmess said.
Barthelmess is the Crisis Director and founder of Idaho Community Outreach Behavioral Services (COBS), a group that works closely with survivors of sex trafficking in the Treasure Valley.
From 2021 to 2022, Idaho saw a 271% increase in human trafficking, according to data from Idaho's Uniform Crime Report.
That data doesn't include all the cases of human trafficking in Idaho, however. Those are just the ones investigators have found.
Categorically, sex trafficking is top of the list when it comes to human trafficking.
A 2021 National Human Trafficking Hotline report from Idaho shows sex trafficking is the most prevalent, accounting for 78% of trafficking cases.
Statistics like that are why Idaho groups like Idaho COBS are hosting community education events.
“We do have a trafficking belt, which is I-84, but that is not the main number of our victims and survivors. Our main population are native Idahoans, so they live here. Idaho has the largest population of familial trafficking. That's the biggest demographic of the individuals that we work with,” Barthelmess said. “Familial is where we are selling our own kids. We're selling our own kids. Our own grandkids. Our boyfriends, girlfriends, our husbands’ wives, our grandchildren for a benefit, for money, for housing, for girls, and especially in this economy.”
Barthelmess and the COBS team are very busy working with new survivors on a regular basis.
“Yesterday, I met with four new victims, two adults and two children. In the last 30 days, I probably met with 35 to 45 brand new victims that I've never had contact with,” Barthelmess said.
Connecting with survivors is an opportunity to help.
“We provide resources, we feed, we house, we take care of their medical needs, all the things we keep them safe,” Barthelmess said.
There is also an opportunity for the community to learn about the reality of the uncomfortable truth.
“It's not a shame thing... It's to help us help you, because it is happening. It's happening in every neighborhood. Socioeconomics. There's no discrimination. Trafficking has no discrimination,” Barthelmess said.
Tuesday evening, COBS is set to host a special education event: Fighting Child Trafficking In Your Neighborhood, 6 p.m. at Good News Community Church in Nampa. A major focus: Keeping Idaho kids safe from aggressive predators, many who prey on kids online.
“They're fast. They're convoluted with predators, with traffickers, because every single person that they draw in brings money at their product. They're not even a child. They're not a girl or boy, a husband, a wife, a son and daughter. They're a product,” Barthelmess said.
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